This document is a guide for national authorities who are responsible for managing public health responses to COVID-19
Evidence shows that oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) reduces the risk of contracting HIV during sexual intercourse by more than 90% when taken daily. It is for this reason the National HIV Pre...vention Strategy 2015-2020 (2018 Revision) emphasises the role of preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing new HIV infections in Malawi.
The Ministry of Health has prioritised PrEP use among the populations most at-risk of HIV infection in Malawi: young women ages 10 to 24 years, sero-discordant couples, female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and other priority populations (such as members of the uniformed services, prisoners, and mobile populations).
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This document defines the framework for Malawi’s National HIV Programs. Considering public health benefits and risks, as well as funding and resource implications, deviations from these guidelines are not supported by the Ministry ...ribute-to-highlight medbox">of Health.
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The study collected data on the impact of HIV-related diseases on income, revenues, economic dependency, consumption, education, health, food security, stigma, discrimination, quality ...ttribute-to-highlight medbox">of life, and migration. The study also assessed people living with chronic diseases in order to compare the impact of living with HIV/AIDS with the impact of living with a chronic disease.
Stigma, discrimination, and socio-economic exclusion continue to affect the rights and socio-economic opportunities of people living with HIV in Myanmar. Households with a family member who has HIV, have lower incomes, fewer assets and lower home-ownership, compared to households that are not affected by HIV. They also have more household debt, and their families pay a higher rate of interest compared to families not affected by HIV.
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Immunizations are an essential health service that protect susceptible individuals from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD).2 By providing timely immunizations, individuals and communities remain protected and the likelihood ...-highlight medbox">of a VPD outbreak decreases
This publication is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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VOX Sanguinis, 2021:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affected millions of people worldwide and caused disruptions at the global level including in healthcare provision. Countries ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of the WHO African region have put in place measures for the COVID-19 pandemic containment that may adversely affect blood system activities and subsequently reduce the supply and demand of blood and blood components. This study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on blood supply and demand in the WHO African Region and propose measures to address the challenges faced by countries.
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WHO has published the first-ever guidance on the clinical management of diphtheria. The only previously available guidance was an operational protocol. The new guidance followed the rigorous process for developing guidance at WHO.
It addresses th...e use of Diphtheria Antitoxin (DAT) in the treatment of diphtheria. There is a worldwide shortage of DAT and evidence based recommendations on the use of DAT were requested by many Member States.
The guidance also includes new recommendations on antibiotics. In patients with suspected or confirmed diphtheria, WHO recommends using macrolide antibiotics (azithromycin, erythromycin) rather than penicillin antibiotics.
This clinical practice guideline has been rapidly developed recognizing the global increase in diphtheria outbreaks. Outbreaks of diphtheria in Nigeria, Guinea and neighbouring countries in 2023 have highlighted the urgent need for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of diphtheria. Given the sporadic nature of outbreaks, many clinicians in the affected regions have never managed acute diphtheria and its related complications. Diphtheria remains a neglected disease and vaccination is the top priority. At the same time, for patients with diphtheria, access to antibiotics, DAT and supportive care can be lifesaving.
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Human schistosomiasis, a parasitic and often chronic illness, is one of the major neglected tropical diseases worldwide. It is estimated that 240 million people suffer from schistosomiasis, with mor...e than 200000 fatalities recorded each year. Schistosomiasis is caused by an infection of the blood fluke Schistosoma and is transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected water.
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Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease among school-going adolescents worldwide. However, the burden of severe asthma is highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to explore tea...chers’ perceptions of asthma care across six African countries. We conducted focus group discussions (FGDs) using a semi-structured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. FGDs were conducted in Kumasi(Ghana), Blantyre (Malawi), Lagos (Nigeria), Durban (South Africa), Kampala (Uganda), and Harare (Zimbabwe) between 01 November 2020 and 30 June 2021. We identified two key themes related to asthma care; barriers to asthma care and suggestions to improve the care of adolescents with asthma. Barriers reported by teachers included a lack of knowledge and skills among themselves, adolescents, and caregivers. In addition, some traditional beliefs of teachers on asthma exacerbated challenges with asthma care in schools. Regarding suggestions, most teachers identified a need for all-inclusive asthma training programmes for teachers, adolescents and caregivers, focusing on acute episodes and mitigating triggers. Utilising teachers with personal experiences with asthma to advocate and support these initiatives was suggested. Further suggestions included the need for annual screening to enable early identification of adolescents with asthma and clarify restrictions on teachers administering asthma medications. Teachers across African schools identify multiple barriers to asthma care. Structured school education programs and annual asthma screening are key to addressing some barriers to care.
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Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory disease (CRD) worldwide and is estimated to affect 262 million causing significant mortality and morbidity, and has emerged as an important public health problem in many Latin American (LA) countries ove...r the last 30 or so years. LA is a highly diverse region in terms of geography, climate, wealth, and ethnicity including 20 different countries with 639 million inhabitants, where 40 million are estimated to have asthma. A common feature of LA countries is the high level of social inequalities3 (Figure 1). In LA, asthma prevalence in both children and adults is highly variable and, where high, is among the highest worldwide, particularly in coastal tropical cities.
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The 2014-2015 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia resulted in over 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. Recognizing the importance of addres...sing children’s trauma, the Ebola recovery and restoration trust fund (EERTF) funded the implementation of a Comfort for kids (C4K) program which encourages psychological healing, and promotes resilience in children who have experienced a crisis or disaster. The C4K program in Liberia was implemented between January 2015 and December 2016 in fifteen townships in Montserrado County through a collaboration between Mercy Corps Liberia, the World Bank’s Liberian health task team, and the government of Liberia. C4K primarily centers on the My Story workbook and associated classroom activities, which provide children with the opportunity to express their emotions about their experiences through drawing, writing, and facilitated discussion. C4K also provides capacity building for parents, teachers, and other caretakers on how to identify and more effectively respond to children’s trauma responses and to support their recovery
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The purpose of this publication is to to provide a practical, stepwise approach to the implementation of the national action plans on AMR within th...e human health sector; and to provide a process and collation of existing WHO tools to prioritize, cost, implement, monitor and evaluate national action plan activities. The target audience of the publication are national/subnational stakeholders working on AMR within the human health sector. This includes national health authorities, national multi-sectoral coordination groups, senior technical experts and policymakers involved in implementing AMR activities at all levels of the health system, and implementation partners to accelerate sustainable implementation and monitoring and evaluation of national action plans on AMR.
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In 2015, the United Nations set important targets to reduce premature
cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths by 33% by 2030. Africa disproportionately
bears the brunt of CVD burden and has one ...class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">of the highest risks of dying
from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. There is currently
an epidemiological transition on the continent, where NCDs is projected
to outpace communicable diseases within the current decade. Unchecked
increases in CVD risk factors have contributed to the growing burden of three
major CVDs—hypertension, cardiomyopathies, and atherosclerotic diseasesleading to devastating rates of stroke and heart failure. The highest age
standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to hypertensive heart
disease (HHD) were recorded in Africa. The contributory causes of heart failure
are changing—whilst HHD and cardiomyopathies still dominate, ischemic
heart disease is rapidly becoming a significant contributor, whilst rheumatic
heart disease (RHD) has shown a gradual decline. In a continent where health
systems are traditionally geared toward addressing communicable diseases,
several gaps exist to adequately meet the growing demand imposed by CVDs.
Among these, high-quality research to inform interventions, underfunded
health systems with high out-of-pocket costs, limited accessibility and
affordability of essential medicines, CVD preventive services, and skill
shortages. Overall, the African continent progress toward a third reduction
in premature mortality come 2030 is lagging behind. More can be done in
the arena of effective policy implementation for risk factor reduction and
CVD prevention, increasing health financing and focusing on strengthening
primary health care services for prevention and treatment of CVDs, whilst
ensuring availability and affordability of quality medicines. Further, investing
in systematic country data collection and research outputs will improve the accuracy of the burden of disease data and inform policy adoption on
interventions. This review summarizes the current CVD burden, important
gaps in cardiovascular medicine in Africa, and further highlights priority
areas where efforts could be intensified in the next decade with potential
to improve the current rate of progress toward achieving a 33% reduction
in CVD mortality.
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NGO Social Contracting
Sustainable Financing of National HIV Responses
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is a global federation of national associations of pharmacists and
pharmaceutical scientists. In... order to support these associations in their fight against AMR, FIP has prepared this
briefing document. It is an overview of the different activities that community and hospital pharmacists are involved
into prevent AMR and to reverse AMR rates.
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Not long ago, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Chagas disease, sever...al campaigns denounced the scant progress has been made in diffrent spheres- medical, scientific and politcal- but major challanges still remain. This is an appropriate time to celebrate what has been achieved and to take the next step.
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Rreport of a WHO Consultative Meeting Kolkata India 2012
The guidelines acknowledge that overcrowding, unhygienic conditions and high inmate turn over contribute to the spread of infectious diseases within correctional facilities. The document states that... voluntary HIV counselling and testing must be offered to all inmates when they enter facilities, during their incarceration at an inmate’s request and upon their release. All inmates must be screened for TB symptoms upon entry to facilities and at least bi-annually thereafter as well as upon release. Universal screening for anal, oral and genital STIs must be done at entry and upon self-presentation
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Prepared as an outcome of ICMR Subcommittee on Colorectal Cancer | Coordinated by Division of Non Communicable Diseases | This Consensus Document o...n Management of Colorectal Cancer summarizes the modalities of treatment including the site-specific anti-cancer therapies,
supportive and palliative care and molecular markers and research questions. It also interweaves clinical, biochemical and epidemiological studies.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and the global community of countries, partners, donors, technical experts, scientists and field implementation teams continue to work towards the ultimate goal of...> a world free of the burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).
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